Romancing The Rocket
by Chris Devlin
Summary: My second Rocketshippy Fic
1. Part 1

** Romancing The Rocket**

**Part One**

**By Chris Devlin**

**E-Mail: [chris_devlin@hotmail.com][1]**

**Web Site: **[**www.pokeland.org.uk**][2]

**Genre: Romance - Rocketshippy one**

**Note: As I wrote this fic I began to notice that it was quite similar to parts of my Perfect Match series. Please don't mention this in any reviews because I am aware of it and I assure you the ending will be totally different.**

James sighed as he looked up at the night sky. The stars twinkled and the moonlight shone on the surface of the nearby lake as he sat contemplating his life. _**What have I achieved?**_ he thought to himself. _**Nothing, that's what. I've wasted my life. I spent it trying to steal Pokémon and cause as much misery as possible in the lives of a certain group of twerps, and for what? To fill the pockets of the Boss. Well enough is enough.** _He stood up and pointed towards the stars as he proclaimed, "From now on, I am a good guy!". He must have been louder than he thought because he could hear unmistakable footsteps walking towards him.

"James, what on earth are you doing out here? And why are you shouting?" Jesse asked him. "Yeah, some of us have got sleep ta catch up on!" Meowth added irritably as the pair reached him. James turned round to face his two best friends. "Meowth could you give me a moment alone with Jesse please?" he asked the cat Pokémon. Meowth eyed him suspiciously before turning around and heading back to the camp site. It was Jesse's turn to eye him suspiciously. "So?" she said, waiting for his explanation. "Jesse, I've decided to leave Team Rocket." he said, not wanting to beat around the bush but rather to get straight to the point. Jesse took a step back, obviously shocked to the core by this revelation. After a few moments of awkward silence Jesse asked him, "Why? What made you decide to leave?" James turned around, facing away from her towards the open lake before sitting down again. "I suppose I just realized that I'm wasting my life here. All we ever do is try to steal stinking Pokémon. I'm sick of it. Why should we be the ones risking everything just so that Giovanni can get richer?" he said. Jesse could tell from his tone and way of speaking that this had come from the heart. Jesse walked up to and sat beside him. "What will you do?" she said looking across the watery surface of the lake. James heaved in resignation. "I have no idea?" he admitted. "All I've ever done is cause harm. Ever since I ran away from home. First I joined a Bike gang, then Team Rocket." he explained to her. Jesse glanced at him. _**Are those... Are those tears?**_ her mind asked as she noticed the gleam from a freshly formed tear, roll gently down his cheeks. _**If they are he's sure hiding it well. Better not mention it.** _"I suppose I'll figure it out whenever I reach where I'm going." he told her. Now she snapped round to look straight at him. "You're leaving me, I mean us? When?" she said, hoping that he hadn't noticed her slip-up. If he had it didn't show. "Yes. Tonight. The longer I stay the harder it'll be to leave later. I hope you understand." he said. She wasn't sure but she could faintly detect a quiver in his voice, as if he was bottling up his feelings, trying to control what he expressed. "I understand James." she said, her voice totally devoid of emotion, and she stared into the open space above the lake, as if on auto-pilot. James stood up and looked down at her. "I'll just get my stuff, then I'm going to go." he said before he set off down the same trail Meowth and Jesse had came down previously.

Jesse sat there for what seemed like an eternity, thinking about what had just happened. _**Surely I'm dreaming?**_ she thought. Pinching herself on the arm confirmed she wasn't and she rubbed the now sore spot._ **I can't believe he is leaving. James of all people. I suppose I should of seen it coming. He always was the less nasty of the three of us. I wish I had seen it coming. Maybe then I wouldn't feel the way I do about him. Love. **_Such a strange concept to Jesse and it had surprised her when she discovered her feelings for him. And now he was going away, perhaps never to be seen again. It was her turn to cry now and the tears built up in her eyes until they couldn't hold any more. She let them loose and sobbed freely. Some of them rolled onto her lips and she could taste the salt in them. Closing her eyes she squeezed all the tears out and they ran even faster down her face. She sat like that for several minutes until out of nowhere James appeared and gave her the most gentle, loving kiss she had ever experienced. Her heart went overdrive and she felt it might explode given much more. Just as she was about to melt into his arms and give in totally to the kiss, James broke it off. He held her face in both hands, wiping away the occasional tear with his thumb. Looking deep within his eyes she saw nothing but love and regret. "Jesse, I'll never forget you. If you feel the same way about me that I do about you, and judging by that kiss you do, then I'll wait for you where ever I am. Whatever I do, I'll think about you. When you finally realize the futility of all this crime and violence, I'll be waiting for you. I love you Jesse, I will always love you." James stood up and started to walk away. "James don't..." Jesse cried out to him. He kept on walking. "Jesse, please don't make this any harder than it already is." he said, not looking round. She watched him as he got further and further away, until he was no more than a receding dot in the distance.

The months and years passed so quickly for Jessie that they blurred together into one big mess of time, impossible to remember any one occasion. That was due in mostly to the general lack of memorable moments to remember. There were some of course, not long after James left, Giovanni had split Meowth and Jessie up, assigning them to different units and tasks. Jessie found herself with a new Team Member, continuing to steal Pokémon for the good of the organization. She actually found that they worked well together and actually stole more Pokémon than she did with James and Meowth, but the victories were hollow without her best friend beside her to share them. It had been almost five years since she had last seen James, five years that she wished she had spent with him. There were times when she considered looking him up, finding out where he had gone and what he was doing now, but every time she would resolve herself to it something would come and demand her attention more urgently. Usually another simple job, but enough to make it slip her mind. Her next job though, wouldn't be so simple.

"Ah, Jessie, Bob, good. I have another job for you." Giovanni said to the two white shirted agents as they appeared in front of his desk. "Unlike some of the other jobs you've been getting recently this job could have an element of danger." he told them. Bob stepped forward. "Sir, we're ready to handle any job you can give us, Sir." he said to Giovanni. Jessie sighed to herself. Bob was a good three years her junior and had only been with the organisation for a couple of years, but still showed that spark of enthusiasm that had almost burnt itself out in her. She was the veteran, the one with the experience that told her to be wary and alert in any situation, the knowledge that told her that blindly accepting any mission without hearing what it was first was a bad idea. "Good." Giovanni answered in reply as he sat back in his chair. "I want you to plant this bomb in the Military compound outside Celadon City." he told them, tossing a small device that would deliver a surprisingly large explosion in their direction. Jessie stepped forward to voice her hesitance at the plan, but before she could speak Bob piped in. "Certainly Sir, you can count on us." Jessie clenched her fist, ready to punch Bob once they got outside. Declining the mission now was pointless, once a mission had been accepted you couldn't leave it. Instead she sought to increase their awareness of the mission. "May I enquire why this base is to be destroyed sir." she asked. Giovanni smirked as he explained his reasons. "They are experimenting with using Pokémon for military purposes. I am also doing this, and if I destroy their research I can later sell my own Pokémon to the Military." Jessie nodded, a sound plan. "Ok sir, we'll get this done for you." she said and turned away from him before walking out the door.

The base's security was surprisingly lax and Jessie and Bob had no real trouble breaking into the compound, the only problem being the guard movements. Still, they made their way in eventually and soon located their objective. It was a coolant tank outside the main laboratory which, once destroyed, would render the facility useless. They planted the device while remaining undetected and then slowly made their way back toward the fence that they had came through. Jessie went first, then Bob. The next obstacle, the security lights they passed with ease and the pair were soon at the hill they had agreed to detonate the bomb from. It gave them a good view of the compound and would allow them to gauge their success. It wasn't until they reached the hill that Bob noticed his shirt had been torn almost clean off, snagged on the fence back at the compound. It wouldn't have been so bad except that the whole of the front was missing, the part that quite clearly displayed Team Rocket's trademark "R". Jessie cursed at this. **_Well I'm not going to go back for it now_** she thought, and instead decided to detonate the bomb and get back to base, hoping that in the confusion nobody would notice the torn fabric. She wasn't putting much faith in that thought just now though.

"Do you realize how much trouble that one blunder has cost me?" Giovanni fumed as he shouted at Jessie and Bob. "Do you?!" he asked again. Jessie and Bob remained silent. "I've been literally inundated calls from the police, asking me what I know about that explosion. Your actions have brought unneeded attention to the organization." he continued his tirade. "I have little option but to dish out suitable penalties to each of you. Bob, you were the one who left that infernal shirt there in the first place, so you are confined to quarters for a month and all your perks have been rescinded. And Jessie, as the senior team member you had jurisdiction over the mission. You were responsible for making sure that he didn't cock up. Due to your greater experience and the fact that by now you should know better I have no choice but to suspend you indefinitely." he said as he sat down at his desk. "You're firing me?" Jessie asked dumbfounded. "No, you are merely suspended." Giovanni told her as he examined the pile of papers before him. "It's the same thing. And nobody fires me. Not even you. Giovanni, I quit." she said as she turned and marched out. Bob just stood there, unsure what to do. Giovanni looked up at him slowly. "Why are you still here? I told you that you are confined to your quarters, now get there." he ordered the young man.

Jessie stormed into her quarters, tears running down her cheeks like waterfalls. Not from quitting, but from the fact that she was now free. Free to do whatever she wished, whenever she wished. She knew most definitely what she wished. James. She was going after James.

To Be Continued...

   [1]: mailto:chris_devlin@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://www.pokeland.org.uk



	2. Part 2

** Romancing The Rocket**

**Part Two**

**By Chris Devlin**

**E-Mail: [chris_devlin@hotmail.com][1]**

**Web Site: **[**www.pokeland.org.uk**][2]

**Genre: Romance - Rocketshippy one**

**This follows on from part one (duh). Find it on fanfiction.net if you haven't read it.**

**Note: I'm not sure if I'll do another part, only if I feel like it and I have a storyline I like.**

The sun glinted off the shop window, blinding temporarily those who looked at it the wrong way. Jesse stood across the street looking over at the building. Glancing at the scrap of paper in her hand she compared the scribbled words with those on the shop sign. "Collectables, Collectables, Collectables!" _**This must be the place,**_ she thought to herself. Crossing the street she looked in the shops window at the display. It seemed to be made up of bottle caps, ring pulls and Trading Cards for a kids game that had become obscenely popular over the last few years. One of the cards had a price of several hundred dollars. Jesse shook her head slightly, almost imperceptibly. Kids would buy anything. Turning away she headed for the door and walked in. The place was crawling with kids, each trying to find their own particular purchase before somebody else did. Jesse slowly worked her way through the crowd towards the cash register where the sole shop assistant was trying to deal with at least twenty kids at once. "No, we don't have that card. No your Dibobychu card isn't worth ten dollars. No, no, no." he said to the army of kids before him. Then he spotted Jesse. "Finally somebody who isn't ten years old. How can I help you Miss?" he asked her with a smile. "I'm looking for James. Is he here?" she asked him, holding up a picture of James. "Oh, you mean the boss? He's not here right now." Jesse gasped. "This is James store?" she said, trying to confirm that. The store assistant nodded, "Yep, the boss is taking his day off. He deserves it too. Hardly been away from this place since he opened it three years ago." he explained. Jesse was still reeling from this news but managed to get off one more question before the hoards of rampaging kids shoved her out the way. "Could you tell me where he stays?" she enquired. "Sure. Here take this." the store assistant said, jotting down an address on a piece of paper and handing it to her. Jesse looked at it. "Thanks." she said before turning around and squeezing her way out. The store assistant went back to his work. "Yes. No. Look I told you before, it's not worth ten dollars."

Jesse walked down the street, the summer sun heating the back of her head. _**James is doing really well for himself,**_ she thought. _**Better than I, or anyone, thought he might. **_Her mind decided to go off on it's own stroll down memory lane, thinking of how things used to be when they were all together. When it really was TEAM Rocket. Her body just walked, apparently knowing exactly where it was heading. Before she knew it she had walked into a nice quiet suburban area. The streets were all alike. House upon house of pretty front gardens with porches and dogs. _**Typical suburbia, the kind you see in sickly sweet kids movies, **_she told herself. Looking around she found a street name. Hunterston Avenue. It matched the one on the piece of paper the store assistant had given her, and so she continued along the street, looking for house number seventy-five. She found it about half-way down the street. Opening the wooden lattice gate she proceeded up the path towards the house. In her mind she started thinking of things to say. It was then she found that she in fact had no idea what to say. As she approached the door, her mind went into overdrive, thinking of possibilities until it came up with the ultimate course of action. _**F*****g go for it**_, she thought and pressed the doorbell.

There seemed to be an eternity to wait before she finally heard some movement from inside the house, and another before the door was opened by a young man, probably around twenty-five with medium length black hair. "Oh, er I'm sorry. I was looking for someone called James. I'm sorry if I bothered you." she said as she turned to leave. "You don't have to go Jess." the young man said to her as she began to walk away. She stopped. That voice, she recognized it. Slowly she pivoted on the spot. The young man stood in the doorway looking at her. Even with the longer, darker hair it didn't take her long to recognize James underneath. "James!" she cried and ran up to him, throwing her arms around him. He embraced her in a bear hug, holding her body to him. She pulled back to face him. She just stared at him for a second, taking in the new look he had. Slowly she moved forward and kissed him. He returned the kiss, but almost as soon as he had, he broke it off, as if suddenly remembering something. She frowned slightly at this before dismissing it. "Come on in." he said to her, and led her inside the house.

Jesse could tell almost instantly that he didn't live alone in the house. Pictures of unknown people crowded the walls, and a lot of the decor wasn't exactly what she would expect of James. But she hadn't expected the new look James either, maybe this was just another part of it. They walked into a small sitting room and James offered Jesse a seat. "So, how're things with you?" he asked as he sat down himself. "Ok, I guess." she said quietly. There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Neither of them knew what to say. Jesse decided to break the silence. "I left Team Rocket." she told him. James nodded in approval. "So you finally saw the pointlessness of it all, huh?" he asked her. She squirmed slightly, recalling why she had left. "Something like that." she said. "So, I see you've done alright for yourself. I was down the store earlier but you weren't there. The place was packed." she said, making conversation, but not really interested. She just wanted to go over to him and kiss him, hard and passionately, before going somewhere more private and making long, sweet love with him. Her mind wandered, imagining the whole scene. Candle's lighting the room in their own flickering light, and soft music playing in the background. She allowed herself a small smile. "Jesse?" James asked her and she suddenly snapped out of her day dream. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying?" she asked him. "I was saying, that I still really care for you, but... Things are so different now Jess. We're not the same people we were all those years ago." James said to her. She was about to reply, when she noticed someone standing in the sitting room door. It was a young girl, three at the oldest, holding a doll in one hand and a teddy bear in the other. The girl just stared at Jesse, obviously not knowing who she was. James had noticed her too. "Hey, come here." he said to her. She shuffled over to James, her eyes always on Jesse. When she reached him he put his arms out and lifted her onto his knee. "Jesse, I want you to meet Fiona. My daughter."

Jesse, nearly gave away her shock by gasping out loud. "Your daughter?" she asked as she looked at Fiona. The girl was quite obviously James's girl, she had his old bluey purple hair and the eyes were almost exactly the same. "Yep." James said as he smiled at Fiona. "Fiona, this is daddy's friend. She's called Jesse. Can you say hello to Jesse?" he asked the three year old. She just sat and stared at Jesse before she slowly brought her hand up and waved at Jesse. "That's my girl. How bout you go play with your toys and I'll be through soon, ok?" James said to her. Fiona just nodded before sliding off his knee onto the floor and running out the door. Jesse watched her go before looking up at James. He was beaming with pride in his little girl. "She's beautiful." Jesse told him. "Thanks." James replied. Jesse sat there, unsure of what to say next. "So, you're married then?" she said, confirming what she already knew to be true. James nodded, "For three years now." Jesse allowed herself a small snigger. "What's her name?" Jesse asked him. "Karen." James told her. "Nice." Jesse said to herself.

They talked for an hour afterwards, Jesse becoming less and less distressed with every passing minute. He was happily married with a kid and another one on the way. His life was content, full. Sure she would never be with him now, but somehow, just the fact that he was happy satisfied her. Apparently he had met Karen a couple of months after leaving Team Rocket. They'd dated on and off for about two years, until James had popped the question. Obviously she had said yes, and within a year Fiona was born. He told Jesse that Karen had made him feel like only one other person had, and that other person was unreachable and out of touch at the time. He connected with her in such away that he had always known she was the one. Jesse began to wipe her eyes. She knew that she'd had her window of opportunity, and had thrown it away. That could have been her and James with their own daughter. Still, that was in the past and the future was still to come...

To Be Continued?

Note: If I do indeed continue this story (I have yet to decide) I may well put in a section on what happened to Meowth or some other piece of crap. Anyway, criticism (as long as its constructive) is welcomed and indeed encouraged.

   [1]: mailto:chris_devlin@hotmail.com
   [2]: http://www.pokeland.org.uk



End file.
